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Introducing Andy Maskell, DEFGLIS National Events Director

DEFGLIS National Events Director Andy Maskell introduces himself, discusses his previous successes and reveals his plans for events in 2019.

I joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1995, enlisting as a Writer. I’ve served on a number of ships and establishments, including HMAS Arunta, Ballarat, Stuart, Sydney, Choules, Cerberus, Kuttabul,and Stirling– Wow! That is a lot.

I commissioned in December 2017, and currently serve as the Project Officer in Navy People Branch, working on the professionalisation of Navy’s human resource management.

I first became open about my sexuality in 1998, only six years after the ban was lifted on gay and lesbian personnel serving in the ADF. I have been involved with DEFGLIS since around 2010, when I first marched in Mardi Gras – before the wearing of uniforms were allowed.

Before 2018, I was involved the organising of multiple networking events around the inner Sydney area. However, the highlight of my DEFGLIS membership has been having the honour to lead the Military Pride Ball committee in 2018, and the duty of opening proceedings on the night as one of the introductory speakers.

We shifted gears last year and moved away from the traditional MC model, introducing our members to the Ball attendees - the theme was ‘This Is Me’. Guests heard personal stories from our diverse membership base about coming out, living as someone who identifies, stories of curiosity,

The night was absolutely spectacular! It was great to see so many faces, both old and new.

Being intimately involved in the ball last year kick-started my passion to give more back to our community and DEFGLIS, and I was honoured to receive my Board appointment this year.

The focus for me this year in my role as National Events Director is to help the membership base establish, advertise and execute networking events around Australia. I intend to work with other board members, in particular the Education Director to provide professional development opportunities.

It goes without saying that the organising and execution of another high-end Military Pride Ball is high on my agenda – and duty statement! So what is my vision for Military Pride Ball? People learning something the important work that DEFGLIS is doing to support LGBTI members in Defence, keeping up to date with issues that affect our community whilst meeting new people and having a great time. I love that you get to say hi to old friends, and meet new ones!

Last year was a learning curve for me – organising the ball is quite an undertaking. I think it aged me! This year we are keen to ensure our diverse community is represented on the Ball Committee and to provide other members an opportunity to give back to our community.

Trust me – if you can pull off a Military Pride Ball, a wedding is a gay walk in the park.

I encourage you to get involved. Roles and levels of commitment can be adjusted to suit you. Let’s make #MBP19 the best one yet!

If you’d like to get involved with the Military Pride Ball 2019 Committee, please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

25 May 2019

About the Author

Author: Andrew Maskell

Andy is a Management Executive in the Royal Australian Navy, and DEFGLIS National Events Director